


In the Crosshairs

by A_A_Ron17



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action, Drama, M/M, Multi, Post-Apocalypse, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, mafia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-23
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:14:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_A_Ron17/pseuds/A_A_Ron17
Summary: In the year 2021 half of the population died out from the yellowstone caldera finally erupting. A short ice age broke out and most people had to migrate to the big cities or what was left of them. It's now the year 2288 and the ash is finally beginning to clear. The cities closest to the blow site are still blanketed in a thick layer of ash. These cities have high numbers of criminals and thugs. Void City has the highest crime rate of anywhere in North America. A young man named Theo lives in a city called Eminence on the opposite side of the map. This place is known as being a sanctuary and all around utopia. Theo doesn't feel wanted or needed there with his family so he decides to take on the forgotten Void City. Little does he know, someone very special to him dwells within the very place.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This will be my thought process for my webtoon "In the Crosshairs". This isn't anything official it's just a way for me to visualize things easier. 
> 
> Disclaimer: this story is going to have a lot of unsettling themes. If violence, rape, pedophilia bother you don't read. I mean you can if you want but you've been warned.

It was the same thing every time he closed his eyes. Lights. Various neon colors, vibrant and beautiful. Not as beautiful as the pair of blue eyes watching him. He'll always remember those blue eyes…

A voice was coming into focus as he began to stir into consciousness.

"Hey, are you going there too?"

The young man blinked away sleep as the woman next to him stared at him for an answer.

He wiped away a little bit of drool that had gathered at the corner of his mouth. "Sorry, I don't remember falling asleep. Where are we?" When he looked back, the light was gradually fading.

She giggled at the crust in the corner of his eye. "Just on the outskirts of the city. You seem really tired. Not an early bird?"

"No. Never have been," He rubbed his eyes out of embarassment. "Uh, I'm sorry do I know you? Not to be rude or anything I'm just really bad at remembering faces."

She straightened out her skirt as she crossed her legs "No, you don't. Just trying to make conversation. What's your name?"

"Theo."

"Nice to meet you Theo. I'm Jacqueline. Friends call me Jackie though. Why are you going to Void City out of all places?"

Theo straightened himself up and finally got a look at the woman next to him. She was like a porcelain doll, a porcelain doll riddled with tattoos. Her hair was like a plume of charcoal dust, soft and immensely black. On some of the ends there were bright red streaks. Her lips were full and covered in a dark red lipstick. She was very voluptuous as well, it made him blush. 

"I uh…" he cleared his throat, " I'm uh, an investigative journalist. I'm doing a report on the immense crime rates there. Probably won't get anywhere though. I'm beginning to think I suck at this job…"

Jacqueline smiled sadly at him.

"Sorry. I tend to over share stuff. Why are you going?"

"Don't know. I got tired of the snooty and snobby attitudes of Eminence. I'm hoping I can find my calling here."

Theo's eyes began drooping again, "Well, I hope you find what you're looking for Jacqueline."

"You too Theo. I'm going to let you go back to sleep before you fall asleep talking to me," she giggled.

The incessant hum of the train and the soft chatter of the passengers made falling back to sleep all that much easier.

*** 

A soft hand nudged at his shoulder and he jolted awake once again. 

She pointed toward the front of the train, "We're here. Isn't it beautiful?"

If she didn't wake him up, he would've probably stayed asleep thinking it was night. For miles all around, it was pitch black. The only light source was small street lamps and the actual glow from the city itself. It was like looking at a work of art. His eyes were transfixed and in awe of it. 

Small and rickety houses zoomed past as they entered into the city. There was no sign of foilage or greenery anywhere, only ash covered the ground. Back home they had a lot of trees and plants. He wondered why there wasn't any here other than the obvious lack of sunlight. Couldn't they get light towers here too?

As the buildings began to grow taller and larger, he noticed something covering the sides of them. It could only be described by looking like veins. It was some kind of plant and it glowed! It was all over the city in various colors. This was the source of the light he saw before entering the city. He thought it would've been neon or something similar, but this was living by the looks of it. 

Jacqueline seemed to notice him and his gaping mouth. She smiled.

"I see you like the bioluminescence huh? They say it showed up about 100 years after the big blast. No one knows where it came from; they're still researching it. I'm surprised you didn't know anything about it with you being a journalist and all."

Theo turned his head towards her, "I wanted to come into this blind but I feel like even if I did research on it, I'd have the same reaction. It's beautiful! It's like the earth making its own light source. It's incredible."

As they neared the station and the heart of the city, more and more people were gathering around a spot in the street adjacent to the train tracks. Theo didn't notice what they were looking at but was more enthralled with what the people were wearing. Just as the city was covered in it, the people were as well! Their clothes glowed with stripes and spots of the bioluminescent light. It was like the deeps of the ocean but on land.

The brakes hissed on the train and a voice on the intercom rang out. "Passengers for Void City please make your way to the exits. For first time guests or future residents, there will be someone to help you. Thank you for using Swift Railways."

Theo started to feel a bit ill. This was his first time on his own and being this far away from his family. Not that they would miss him anyway. They were so absorbed in their lives. This was going to be a new start for him… hopefully.

When he got off the train, there was a short and stout woman with a dress shirt and skirt on. She was drowned in perfume; it made Theo's nose scrunch up. She smiled at him and motioned for him to follow. Jacqueline was behind him, quiet as a mouse. They were the only two that got off here? For some reason, that bothered him.

"Alright you two, if you'll follow me, I'll show you around a bit. Stay close to me. Don't know who's watchin' around here," the lady said while peering around. 

Theo turned to make eye contact with Jacqueline, "What the hell does she mean by that?" he whispered.

Jacqueline simply shrugged.

As they walked through the station, Theo noticed some interesting things. The first one was the couple obviously having intercourse on one of the seats that people would sit to wait for their train. Graffiti littered the walls, there were shady people in groups watching all three of them like vultures, people exchanging something and then leaving. Theo had never felt more uncomfortable in his life. He could practically feel the stares.

They rounded a corner and went down a hallway into a small room. The small lady turned to both of them with a grim expression on her face. "You two… you realize where you're moving to right..?"

Theo and Jacqueline looked at each other and nodded hesitantly. 

The lady pursed her lips and nodded as well. "Okay… I'm here to keep you guys safe. Here's a map where in the city it's best to stay. Of course, there's always the chance that it isn't but–"

"Wait, what do you mean by all of this?" He asked while pulling the strap of his bag back up onto his shoulder. 

She let out a sigh. "Did you guys think before deciding to move here? You do realize this is the most crime riddled city on this continent right? Mafias, drug rings, sex trafficking, you name it. It's insane here. I suggest you get something to defend yourselves."

Theo felt his stomach drop. "It's really that bad here? Is there no police force here?"

"Oh honey," she chuckled, "you think they would stay uncorrupted? I'm not saying everyone in the city is a thug or ruffian but you have a much higher chance of running into them here than anywhere else. It's like this is the landfill of shitty people– oop pardon my language– landfill of bad people."

Jacqueline picked at her nails and got her phone out, "So where are these places to stay? I kinda want to get settled in today."

Theo snapped his head at her with an incredulous look, "You're fine with this?"

"Oh yeah," she started, "I forgot to tell you, I grew up here haha. It's bad but it also has its perks. I tried Eminence and I just couldn't fit in as much as I tried. Those people act like they're some kinda deities or something. Here, they feel like people. So anyway, I'd like the directions of the place please?"

Theo blinked at her. 

The lady gave her a small pamphlet with various addresses. "There's an apartment complex not far from here, they're pretty cheap with the rent. With good reason though I'm afraid. They're pretty… trashy."

"Well I'm pretty trashy so... it fits!" She finished putting the address into her GPS and turned around. "Okay, thanks for the help and good luck Theo, don't get eaten alive out there," she said with a wink and left the room.

Theo stood frozen staring at the pamphlet then looked back at the lady. She was obviously waiting for him to make his choice. She appeared anxious. Theo noticed her fiddling with her hands.

"Are you alright?"

"Oh of course hun. I'm just ready to get the heck out of here," she said. 

Theo raised an eyebrow, "You don't live here?"

"Of course not! I'm only here to help the poor souls unfortunate enough to end up here. If you were asking me, I'd say it would be best that this whole place fall into the Pacific." She straightened the pamphlets and went for a drawer that sounded empty. "Damn Bill found my snack bin… well hun, are you done? I'd really like to get on the next train out of here."

"Sorry, I was just… I'll just take this and leave. Be safe I guess and thanks." He awkwardly waved.

"You too hun. Watch out for yourself, ya hear me?" She smiled at him and got a ring of keys out of her pocket and locked the drawer. He walked out the door.

Theo found himself fast walking through the entire station. He probably looked like a lunatic but at this point he just wanted to get out of the place. 

When he finally got out he froze immediately. His mind was boggled. How could a place so beautiful and colorful be absolutely terrible and corrupt? The skyscrapers were huge and each one of them had the bioluminescent vines crawling up each side. One was bigger than the rest with a big "S" on the side of it. Must be some big corporate building or something. Everywhere he turned there was noise, car horns, music, gunshots… GUNSHOTS?!

Suddenly the magic was gone and he started searching frantically for a taxi. While his eyes scanned the street, he recognized a familiar face and ran to her.

"Jacqueline! Wait for me!"

She turned and waved at him. "Hey pretty boy, long time no see. Where are you headed to?"

"Wherever you're going. You know a lot more than me so I trust you."

"Terrible decision really… just kidding," she giggled. "I'm just waiting for a damn taxi. It's always bad this time of day."

"How the hell do you know the time of day other than a clock? It's always dark here."

She grabbed him by the shoulders making his cheeks flush, and pointed to an area in the sky. "See that little white spot in the sky? The sun's beams squeeze their way through that and that's how you know it's day. There's just enough thinning of the ash."

"Oh."

She pinched his cheek and went back to her position. Then she started frantically waving her hands in the air and almost hopping in place. "Oooh! I think I see one coming! You help flag it down too!"

Instead of the energetic approach, Theo just waved one hand in the air toward the strange looking car. 

When it drove up next to him, his eyes locked onto it. This car looked nothing like the ones he was used to back home. It almost appeared animal-like. On the back where a window would've been, there were multiple little flaps that fluttered about excitedly. After noticing the red light coming from them, he realized it was the turning signals and brakes. Just as everything else, this had bioluminescence all over it as well. It reminded him of a sting ray. 

Jacqueline finished shoving her bag into the back and motioned for him to do the same. When they got in the car, there was no one in it. 

"Where's the driver?" he asked. 

The cab was dark save for a blue string of lights that bordered the entire interior of the car. There was no backseat, just the two front seats and a large screen where the window should've been. 

Jacqueline started inputting the address into the small touch screen at the bottom. "Oh they don't usually have drivers here. Too dangerous. Of course some of them choose to do it still, we just happened to get one that doesn't have one."

"So it's just going to drive itself?"

"Uuuh yeah." She smiled. "Cool huh? And they're all completely electric. Most of these cars are failed concepts that some big wig took and actually started distributing them. They only really got big here for some reason." Then the car began moving to its destination.

Theo oogled at the control screen. "Yeah I wonder why… you said they're electric? How come most of the cars in Eminence still run on fuel? Seems kind of counterproductive to me."

"Ah," she started, "finally starting to question that place huh? It's not as perfect as everyone makes it out to be. Place felt weird the moment I moved there. Too happy. Never trust things or people that are too happy. Mark my words."

Theo pondered the whole ride to the apartment complex. Why had he never learnt of this place? Did they keep it hidden for a reason? His stomach growled then and Jacqueline laughed. "Hungry? I can take you somewhere to eat."

"No I'm fine. I'll just go to a convenience store or something. I think it's mostly nerves…" he stared at his feet.

Jacqueline put a hand on his. "I know what everyone says about this place but there's also really good people too. People that want to make a difference and also people that just had the misfortune of being born here. I don't think there's such a thing as a place full of only bad people." She smiled and removed her hand. 

Theo felt a little better but still felt anxious. After he parted with Jacqueline, would he even meet anyone? Make any friends? He just couldn't see it happening here. Perhaps it would be best for him so he could focus on his journalism. He put his face against the window and pouted. He already missed home.

After about fifteen minutes of silence, Jacqueline's voice made him jump, "Well here's your stop. The place I'm going is a little further up the way." She outstretched a hand, "Give me your phone." 

Hesitantly, he placed his phone in her pale hand.

She chuckled. "I'm not gonna bite ya, just wanted to give you my number. If you ever need help or just want to talk with someone, you got me," she grinned.

"Oh. Sorry, I don't mean to be so jumpy it's just–"

"I know," she interrupted, "it's a lot to take in. The first week is tough by yourself but I think you got this. Just watch yourself out there. People around here would probably like to get their mitts on your cute little self."

"Really?"

"Oooh yeah. You're a pretty boy. Plus you're new here. They'll be able to tell. I suggest you learn to blend in. You should be fine then."

"Alright. Guess I'll be on my way then," he muttered.

"See ya Theo. I'll text you when I settle in. If I remember, I have an awful memory." 

He grabbed his bag and opened the door. When he got out of the car, the full weight of reality set on him. Jacqueline waved at him and blew a kiss. He closed the door reluctantly. Then the car sped off and she was gone. 

He bit his bottom lip and turned around. The lady at the train station was absolutely right. This place was a trash can.

***

Jacqueline was right. The first week was awful. The second week sucked as well. She forgot to text him and he was too stupid and scared to text her back for some reason. He didn't want to feel annoying so he'd just wait until she texted him.

His apartment was a one bedroom, one bathroom. It smelt like cigarettes and burnt rubber. Someone must've screwed up a vacuum cleaner or something. Whatever the cause was, he hated the smell and it gave him a headache.

He tried covering it up with an air freshener he got at a small mart that was down the road. Didn't do too much to cover the stench though. It just smelt like lavender and burnt rubber. Oh well. Hopefully he'd get used to it. 

He sat in front of his laptop with an empty document staring back at him. His office was on the small table in the kitchen. It only came with two chairs. He'd be in a world of trouble if his parents and brothers wanted to visit. Not that they would but still, fitting his mom, dad, and all seven of his brothers in this microscopic place would be laughable. He wondered if they missed him. None of them had called. 

He leaned back in the rickety chair and stretched his arms. His stomach growled meaning he'd have to go out and find some cheap and easy food. He had some frozen meals he bought when he first got here but he was growing tired of them. There was a convenience store down the way but that would be the farthest he's walked away from his house in this place. 

The people here were quiet and always looking over their shoulder. Deeper in the city where the train station was, people seemed a lot more lively and loose. He must be in a bad part of town. 

Gathering all of his courage, he grabbed his house keys, phone and wallet. He felt his heart hammering in his chest as he opened the door and left. 

Walking down the street wasn't as bad as he thought. It was loud despite the lack of people around. He heard people yelling, laughing, car tires screeching; it sounded like a typical city. 

When he reached the convenience store, he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you fucking kidding me?" he hissed under his breath. All the lights were off and a sign that read "closed". He lost track of time… again.

Across the road, he could hear a couple of voices talking. There were two men looking in his direction. He turned around to see if there was anyone else they could've been looking at but no, it was only him. 

Theo stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking slowly. The men followed. He began walking faster and they started crossing the street. With all the energy he could muster, he broke into a sprint and the men began to chase him. "Hurry up he's getting away!" One yelled at the other. 

He still wasn't familiar with this area at all and ended up running all over the place in a frenzied panic. The men were still tailing him and he was losing stamina. He took a sharp turn down an alleyway and saw a door ajar. For some reason, he felt it was a good idea to hide in there. Little did he know that as soon as he'd turned into that alleyway, the men immediately stopped tailing him.

The place must've been a back room in some other place because he could hear people laughing and talking within. It sounded like the inside of a club or a lounge. He hid behind one of the several couches boarderring the room. It was a pretty fancy looking place. The walls were a dull red and the floor a shiny black tile. In the middle of the room there was an elegant wooden table.

Just as he was going to make a run for it, he heard voices and a ruckus following them. They were coming down a hallway. There were three voices. Before he could move, the door busted open and a stout man in a suit was thrown into the table. Theo let out a small gasp and covered his mouth. He shrunk in on himself so no one would see him. His curiosity got the better of him though and he peeked his head a little from the side of the couch. 

A deep and gravelly voice made him jump.

"Thought you could hide huh? Now where the fuck do you think you're going?!"

A man wearing a white tank top trudged into the room then. He was on the shorter side but had a very muscular build. Theo couldn't help but stare at his arms. One was completely sleeved in tattoos. He had very messy mid length hair. Theo bit his lip. 

The man in the suit scrambled to get up to escape but before he could even get off the ground, the man with the deep voice stomped his head into the ground. Theo shuddered and hid behind the couch again.

"Get your fat ass up here," the man grabbed him by the hair and lifted him up and slammed him into the table causing the stout man to scream in pain. Then the other person in the room finally spoke up. Whoever it was, had an obvious british accent. 

"Avery! Tone it down!"

"Oh babe, it's going to get so much louder," this Avery person had a wicked grin on his face.

The other man put a hand on his hip, "Please tell me you didn't bring it. I thought we talked about this."

"... Uh…" the man struggled in his grasp, making Avery punch him nonchalantly.

"You did, didn't you? Avery, you concern me… a lot," he huffed as he sat down elegantly in a chair nearby. "Just… refrain from using it. Please? For me?"

Avery rolled his eyes, "Fine."

"Please just let me go! I won't do it again! I'll move away! Anything just please don't kill me!" The man cried. 

Avery gave the man a venomous look and slammed him back onto the table. "And what makes you think I'm going to just let you go? Where was this attitude for the little girls you fucked with?"

"Wait– I thought this was about my debt? What are you talking about?!"

Avery grabbed him roughly, baring his teeth. "Don't play stupid with me old man!! We saw what was on your computer, or I should say Jarvis over here saw."

The man glanced over to the slender man sitting in the armchair. "You– you were supposed to fix it! Why'd you look through it?!"

Jarvis adjusted his glasses and leaned back, "I had been given tips by the locals around here. Turns out they were correct. Your type thinks they're so clever and sneaky but having a folder on your desktop in plain view says otherwise. Foolish mistake."

The man began to sweat. "Then, what are you going to do to me?"

Avery mockingly put his finger and thumb to his chin like he was in thought, "Hmm I wonder what? I'll say, if it weren't for Jarvis here, you'd be in pieces. I guess that's not on the agenda for today though. So!" He then grabbed the man again making him hiss in pain. Jarvis then stood up and grabbed one of the chairs from under the table and Avery sat the man down in it. "I'm thinking… I'm going to starve you to death."

"Avery…" Jarvis warned.

"Oh alright fine!" He pouted. "Shoot him."

"Wait no! You can't just kill me! People will know!" 

Avery laughed. "Do you think I give a rats ass? We own this part of town dipshit. You were brought here so you're free game. Sorry that's how it goes." He shrugged. 

Jarvis looked at the man with disgust and turned to look at Avery. Before he could open his mouth, someone else barged in the room. 

"Hey! You guys already beat his ass! Why didn't you wait for me?!" An even smaller man with sunglasses and a cigar in his mouth yelled at them. 

"Glenn, what the fuck took you so long?!" Avery began walking towards him.

"Sorry, had to take a shit. Oh and I brought your chainsaw." Theo's eyes widened at the tool in his hands.

"Yeah we're not using that now. We're just going to shoot him."

"Well, that's boring. I even brought my pliers…." He put the chainsaw down gently.

The man now tied up in the chair was frantic. Jarvis pistol whipped him to shut him up, making him wail in pain. Theo felt like he was going to throw up. 

"You people are sick," the man started, "what gives you the right to do this?! You'll be caught one day. All of you!"

The room fell into silence. Avery had his back turned toward him and he chuckled. "Change of plan."

"Avery, please don't," Jarvis begged.

It was too late though. Avery had already grabbed the chainsaw and revved it up. "I'm sick? I'm sick?! Go to fucking hell!"

He swung the chainsaw right into the man's shoulder. A blood curdling scream filled the room along with the sound of tendons ripping and bones breaking. Jarvis was turned away from the scene rubbing his temples. Glenn was lighting another cigar and watching.

After what felt like forever to Theo, the chainsaw was finally turned off. 

"Avery!! How many times have I told you to stop this?!" Jarvis shouted in Avery's face. Avery merely patted Jarvis's cheek to which Jarvis grabbed a hold of his wrist to rip it away. "You're such a bloody idiot! Look at this mess!"

Avery giggled. "I love seeing you mad. It's so cute." 

Jarvis crossed his arms and glared daggers at him.

"Fine I won't do it anymore," he moaned. "I'll get Glenn and Sasha to clean it up."

Glenn made his way out the door while saying, "you've got to be fucking kidding me…"

Just as they all headed for the door, they heard a thump at the other end of the room. 

Theo was laying in a pile of his own vomit passed out.

All three of them gathered around him and knelt down to get a better look.

Glenn pulled his sunglasses down, "Who the fuck is that?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello once again. I really struggled with this so I hope it's somewhat readable and good lol. And again this is not completely official so it might be vague in some parts on purpose. Hope you guys like it (• ▽ •;)

Theo began stirring into consciousness after being asleep for a good hour or two. He was kind of sleep deprived so it was a well needed bit of sleep but then he remembered why he was asleep in the first place. 

Next to him he heard the man with the deep voice again. This time there was a woman's voice. Two women actually. One was a lilted, calm voice. The other was deeper and a tad nasally. 

"So…. You guys found a random guy in the lounge? What's wrong with him?" The woman with the deeper voice was next to him on the opposite side of this "Avery" person. 

"He was hiding behind the couch I guess. Poor guy was covered in puke. Smells like crap. Don't know what he was doing in here though…" Avery pondered. "Sasha, go get a washcloth, a paper towel or something. He still has puke on his chin."

The woman grunted as she got up and left the room. 

His eyes shot open from the cold feeling of a wet cloth on his face. When his vision cleared, there were eyes all around him. All of them staring at him. 

Avery took the cloth off and flicked Theo's nose making him jump. "Finally awake? Sorry you had to see…. That," he motioned his hands towards the floor that was now clean, "just a deal gone wrong, that sort of thing ya know? Anyways, uh, who are you?"

Theo felt his whole body tense up and his heart rate quicken. He couldn't open his mouth. 

Then the taller lanky man from earlier, Jarvis, walked over to Theo. First he looked at Avery, "A deal gone wrong Avery? A quick bullet to the head would have sufficed but you scarred this poor man instead," he rolled his eyes when Avery chuckled then gazed over at Theo with a sympathetic look, "I'm terribly sorry you had to witness that. Are you alright?"

Jarvis's voice calmed his frayed nerves a little bit but he still wanted to make a dash for it and leave. 

He felt two large hands under his armpits then and he was quickly sat up. Avery pat him on the back and put an arm around him. He smelt like smoke and sweat. 

"Be careful, he might fuck you!" A voice shouted from the other side of the room.

"Oh shut up Glenn," Avery mumbled with a grin. 

Glenn cackled in the corner with another cigar in his mouth. 

"That's Glenn, he's a certified dumbass. This here is Jarvis," then he pointed to a woman next to Glenn playing on her phone, "that's Sasha. Another idiot. There's others but they're probably busy at the moment. What's your name kid?"

Theo squirmed in Avery's grasp. "Th-Theo."

Avery lifted his arm from his shoulder, "Theo huh? Okay Theo well, we have some things to do so how about you go on home? I'll have someone watch ya on the way there. That sound alright?"

Theo frantically nodded his head.

Avery smacked playfully at Theo's thigh and made him jump. "Okay… uh— Sasha!"

"What?"

"Take this kid home, make sure he gets there in one piece."

She audibly sighed, "Man… can't Glenn do it? I had nothing to do with this mess."

"Fine," said Avery firmly, "take Glenn with you. Make sure he gets home. He's got a pretty face and you know what that means."

"Uuuh that you'll never have to worry about that?" She grinned wickedly. 

Avery was smiling but Theo could practically sense the annoyance coming off of him. "Do what I say. Goddamn morons…"

"Hey why are you insulting me? I didn't say shit!" Glenn whined. 

Avery ignored him and pushed Theo over to the two of them. They both stood up fast to catch him from falling onto the floor. "Damn!"

"Get him out of here, quick!" Avery hissed.

Sasha grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the open door that led into the alleyway. Glenn followed behind them.

They came out into the alleyway. Both of them were on guard and scanning the area for something. Theo watched them with curiosity. 

"Where do you live… uh Theo, is that right?" Sasha said while exchanging something with Glenn. Theo's eyes widened.

"Y-yeah…" Theo stuttered, "was that a gun?!"

Glenn pulled his sunglasses down to look at him. Theo immediately noticed that one of his sceleras was tattooed entirely blue. 

"Listen," he started, "I'm going to give you a break because you're obviously new to here but… are you fuckin' stupid?"

Theo's face flushed red and his shoulders slouched. "No! I-I just– there's no guns where I'm from…"

Sasha hit the back of Glenn's head causing his cigar to pop out of his mouth and fall onto the ground. "No!! My stogie!!"

"Don't listen to him, if anyone here is an idiot, it's definitely Glenn. Trust me I've known him for almost two years now," Sasha smiled at Theo and strode past him towards the street, "alright, lead the way pretty boy." 

Theo scratched the back of his neck and played with a piece of trash on the ground with his foot. "About that… I'm actually not sure where my house is from here. These guys chased me and I ran around aimlessly and ended up here. They left me alone after I came here."

Glenn shifted his newly lit cigar in his mouth and was inspecting the cylinder of his revolver. "Those are smaller gangs that creep around here. Pissants. They know that if they come around here they'll be meatloaf," he finished fiddling with his gun and stuck it in his pants and pointed towards the street, "let's get going. I'm tired of standing around with my thumb up my ass."

Theo swiped around on the screen of his phone, "I have the address somewhere in here." He showed them the street name on the screen.

Glenn grabbed the phone from Theo's hands and inspected it. He gave a curt nod while throwing Theo's phone back at him and began walking, "I know where that is. Let's go."

The rest of the walk there was in awkward silence minus Sasha and Glenn talking about things Theo had no inkling of. So he walked slower behind them rubbing his upper arms.

His mouth still had the taste of vomit and he was hungry. All of that work to get food and he came back empty handed. His stomach growled and he sighed.

Sasha glanced back at him, "You good man? Somethin' wrong?"

Glenn continued strolling on down the road. She noticed him clutching at his stomach and pulled something out of her pocket. It was cylindrical and small.

"I know it's probably been hell out here for you so here," she grabbed his hand and stuffed the object hastily in his palm, "that should last for a lil' while. Get yourself some actual food."

It was a roll of money. When he rolled it around in his palm to observe it, he saw a hundred dollar bill at the top. He tried giving it back, "It's okay, you probably need this more than I do," his voice trembled.

Sasha cocked an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean? You're way worse off than I am! Take it or leave it bro. I've got more where that came from… well something like that. Just take it! Jesus Christ…"

Theo nodded and put the roll of cash in his pocket. She motioned at him as she started walking. "C'mon, it's just right down here."

Theo followed behind wondering, "who are these people?"

***

They stopped at the parking lot and both Sasha and Glenn turned to look at Theo. Glenn was the first one to speak.

"Okay, first off, don't go running around like an idiot at night. That's how you get your ass kicked. Second, stay in this area and the more northern part of the city. Everywhere else is fucked. Got it? Good." He already began leaving before Sasha could even add anything in. 

She still called out to him while walking down the road, "Bye Theo! Let's hope we don't cross paths again! And eat some real food for fucks sake!"

Theo gave a weak wave and made his way to his sad little apartment. 

He couldn't sleep at all that night. 

***

A week went by since that encounter and he heeded their warning by staying north of the city. He found a nice grocery store there and a couple of other shops including a bookstore that he was excited to check out. 

Things were finally starting to settle it seemed. He still wasn't used to the constant darkness though. At least there were streetlights and store signs on the Northside. Where he found those men and that girl, there were almost no lights other than the thrumming veins of the bioluminescence. 

He didn't even think of it that night but when he got home an image stayed in his mind. There was something peculiar about their eyes. They glowed. Almost like a cat's does when in complete darkness.

He didn't see Avery's eyes do it though. The man had black sceleras and red irises. It made it hard to look at him. Not to mention the fact he watched him gore someone to death with a chainsaw. He was still having nightmares from it. 

Jarvis was an odd one though. He didn't fit in at all with the other ones. He was calm and collected. Very professional appearing too. Theo liked his sultry british accent. That man could easily read people to sleep. 

Then there was Sasha. He liked her and Glenn. Glenn was a little harsh though. Maybe that was just him trying to be cool or maybe that's just how he was. 

Theo wanted to know more. 

He was in the middle of cleaning some of the nasty grease stains on the stove when he thought of something. 

"If I can get closer to them, I can get more on the lifestyle around here. I can get in the mind of these criminals and see why this place is the way it is. It would be perfect for my report. There's only one issue… how the hell do I find them again?" He thought while struggling with some steel wool. 

It was a good idea but he would get killed out there or even something worse. There was no way he could go back there and not run into problems. Hell he just wanted a shitty sandwich and almost got jumped. 

There was always the chance he could run into the nice ones again. They didn't seem dangerous; to him anyway, couldn't say the same about the guy that got hacked to death. 

He gave up on the idea already and the stove as well. He threw his rubber gloves at the trashcan, which he missed entirely, and made his way to the bathroom to take a shower.

After the shower, he didn't bother drying his hair and just jumped into bed. He stared at the ceiling like he usually did before going to sleep. Then out of nowhere, he thought of the boy with the blue eyes again. Who was he and why did he keep appearing in his brain? 

His stomach ached when he thought of him. The strange thing was he couldn't remember this boy for the life of him but he dreamt of him almost every night. It was like he had only known him in a dreamland. 

He shook his head from the thought and pulled the string of the lamp bathing the room in complete blackness. 

He was going to find them again. He had to. 

***

The next morning came soon enough. His body was finally adjusting to the never ending darkness. Though it was strange waking up and the pitch blackness of the night was still there. It felt like he was reliving the same night over and over again. 

As he scrambled some eggs in a pan, his nerves were still shot. This time it was a reasonable reason to be anxious. Not fearing for your wallet, dignity, or life. The day after tomorrow he had a job interview at the printing office located here. 

Of course he probably wouldn't land anything big. His last job back in Eminence was writing columns about the developing technologies there. While it was interesting, it wasn't something he wanted to do. 

Hopefully his pitch for his story on this city would go through. There were so many things he could already write about. Still, he wasn't satisfied with what he had. He had to go deeper. There had to be some sort of source where all of this is coming from.

Or maybe this place was just fucked up beyond redemption. 

Either way, it fascinated him.

The smell of burning eggs snapped him from his daydreaming. He inhaled them and then went to get dressed for the day. First, he'd go to that bookstore and see if there was anything of worth. Then probably sit around and watch tv. Then when the city's underbelly awakens, he'll go back to where those people were and watch them.

He was too scared to actually confront them.

***

Nothing too exciting happened at the bookstore. There was one book he had been looking for but the rest was cheaply written young adult novels. As fun as they were to read, a lot of them ended up being very similar to one another.

The people were nice at least. A jarring difference from where he lived. There was a lady nextdoor that was always yelling at him to be quiet. For the life of him, he didn't understand why she would say this. He barely made any noise. Still, he did his best to be courteous to her.

As he trudged up to his door and fumbled with the keys, he heard someone whispering around the corner. He stopped messing with the lock and the whispering stopped immediately. Then there was giggling and the jostling of clothes, like someone was running. He went to check and found no one. 

He glanced back at his door, then to where the giggling was coming from.

Without thinking, he began running to find them. He had a hunch on who it was but the unknown factor made it more exhilarating if he was being honest with himself. 

He went down several alleyways before he realized he probably lost them. Still, he felt like walking so he continued through the… evening? He could never tell what time it was. Though, it was getting darker and darker the further he went. He began to feel anxious.

As he was about to turn a corner, he heard voices. These voices weren't familiar at all. His heart began beating faster as he swallowed hard. He carefully stuck his head a little around the corner to see. 

There were three men in suits. One was very tall with long red hair, he was gorgeous. The other was shorter and was blond. He had never seen a man look so angry in his life. The other one was facing away from Theo and was the shortest one there.

He began to eavesdrop their conversation. 

"– those motherfuckers were sneaking around here again. I ought to pop their asses," the blond man said. "Where the fuck is Heath? Man takes forever to do anything…" 

"You worry too much about them," the red headed man began, "just focus on what we need to do."

The blond man then turned to the man facing the other way, "Yeah yeah yeah… hey Mal, where are those two dumbfucks that follow you around? The new guys."

The man was silent.

"Damn nevermind, always so pissed. Lack of dick from the big man upstairs huh?" He chuckled and was quickly punched in the face reeling him backwards and on the ground. He looked up with malice "Oh you little fuck–"

"How 'bout you shut up before I do it again? Last time I checked you get his dick up your ass too," the other man spit at his feet.

Theo watched intently. These guys weren't friends like the other guys he met. Just as they were about to get in a fight, Theo felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and his notification went off and echoed throughout the street.

He felt all the blood in his face drain.

They went silent.

"What the fuck was that?"

"Sounded like a phone."

Theo felt like he was in big trouble this time. These people would probably hurt him. He quickly turned to run but was met with a suited chest. He stared at the man he had ran into. It felt like his stomach was going to fall out.

He was thrown into the alley where the men were and they all turned to look at him. The blond man knelt down and grabbed Theo's hair making him hiss in pain. He jerked his head up to look him in the eye.

"Well well, what is this? Where'd you come from?"

Theo answered with a blank stare.

"Ooh shy with big doe eyes, just what the boss likes. What do ya think Mal? I think he'd be worth a pretty penny."

The man was quiet. Then he turned around and mumbled, "Boss wouldn't like him. Eyes are too dark."

"Well yeah but–"

"Let him go!"

The blond man scowled and let Theo's hair go, "what's so special about this one? Eh? Another one of your butt buddies?"

Before he could add any other jabs, there was a pistol aimed at his head. 

"You gonna shut up, Victor? Or do you want your brains all over the wall? Hmm? I'll get in trouble yes, but I won't have to deal with your shit anymore."

Theo still couldn't see the man talking but the gun was enough to know he was serious. Seriously crazy! These guys were turning on each other!

Victor slowly stood up and walked away from Theo. "Fine, Jesus Christ. Just put the fuckin' gun away you psycho."

The man put the gun down slowly. Then walked over to Theo and kicked him with brutal force. He passed out on the pavement. He could still somewhat hear.

"Oh so you can fuck with him but I can't–"

"Victor," he interrupted, "leave. Let me deal with this."

Victor rolled his eyes and gestured for the other men to follow.

***

Theo woke up to an older man poking him. He jolted awake, scaring the man in the process. He was sitting next to a dumpster. Definitely not where he was last night. 

He rubbed his cheek. It was still sore from that man kicking him. Who was he and why did he save him? Now he was even more intrigued with all of this.

The old man finally spoke up, "thought you were dead son. Lucky you passed out in this part of town and not on the westside. You okay?"

"Yeah… I'm fine. Confused but fine."

The old man nodded awkwardly and walked away while waving goodbye.

Theo checked both his pockets to find all of his belongings still there. He grabbed his phone to see who the hell texted him at that time of night.

"Hey! It's Jacqueline! Sorry it took so long, told you I was bad at getting back with people. So, how are you settling in? :)"

He smacked his hand to his forehead. Goddamn it.

***

Theo tried his best to shake that man from his thoughts but he began to obsess over it. There had to have been a reason he let him go. Not without kicking his face into the next week of course. He rubbed the side of his face when reminded of it. There was a large bruise forming already and a nice little cut on his cheekbone from the man's shoe.

All of this was going through his head while he waited for his interview in a shoddy waiting room. The lady at the front desk was smacking her gum audibly. Theo grit his teeth and glared at the lady. 

She glanced up at him with an uninterested expression and said, "You're here for the 9:00 right? You can go in."

Theo gripped his papers with his clammy hands and gave her a curt nod. He made his way down the hall.

When he turned the doorknob, he could already hear the person's voice before he walked in the room. It wasn't a voice he was expecting. It was soft and understanding. They must have been on the phone.

The sound of a phone being hung up greeted him when he opened the door. He was also greeted by the cutest woman he had ever seen. She had a black pixie cut and round glasses. She hurriedly moved a stack of papers and pulled out a chair from the front of her desk. 

"Oh my God I'm so sorry!" She squeaked, "I forgot I had an interview this morning and I've been rushing everywhere– please sit down! Mr. Kessler right..?"

"Uh," he cleared his throat and slowly sat down on the chair, "yeah. Theo Kessler."

She smiled and reached out a hand, "Could I please have a look at your resumé Theo?"

He handed her his folder and scanned around the room while picking at his fingernails.

After she approved of the resumé, she asked the normal interview questions to which he answered.

Then she got up and outstretched her arm to shake his hand. "Welcome to the team Theo!" You'll start out as a–"

***

"–Columnist!? Why!?" Theo hissed under his breath as he walked home, crushing a pamphlet between his hands. Then his stomach growled. He was so mad he forgot that he was hungry. He would just go home to make lunch. 

When he got up to his door, he noticed the lock had been picked at and he felt his heart drop. "You've got to be fucking joking.."

He slammed the door open in hopes of scaring the person who broke in. He put on his best masculine voice while doing it. "Who the fuck is in here?!" 

"Aaaaaaaaaah!!!" A bowl of chips flew through the air and landed all over the place.

"What the fuck?! What are you doing here? And my chips…"

Glenn was holding his heaving chest. "Jesus Christ you scared the shit out of me!"

Then Sasha came from out of his bedroom, "Damn bitch you live like this?"

Theo gave her a deadpan look and threw his keys onto a small end table. 

"What do you guys want?" He strode over to the fridge and searched for food. He noticed his lunch meat missing but quickly found it laying wide open on the counter with a mayonnaise and mustard covered knife. He stared daggers at Glenn who had a sandwich in his hand.

"What?" He said with a mouthful of food.

"You ate all of my bread…"

"And…? Go buy more bread. I'm more interested in last night."

Sasha joined in, "Yeah! How the hell do you know Malachi?!"

Theo's eyebrows knit together.

"Who's Malachi?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? What do ya think? :D Cheesy? Lol I'll be posting some more on here. Not sure up until what chapter but there will be more. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if I like this or not yet but here it is! Lol. It's taking all of my brain power to write these so I hope they're at least entertaining heheh.

Theo stared at them waiting for an answer.

Sasha and Glenn glanced at each other with shifty eyes. One of Sasha's eyebrows cocked. "The guy that kicked you into next Tuesday. His name is Malachi. He's a fucking prick. That's all you really need to know about him. Got anything else to eat?"

Theo gestured towards the fridge, "There's some frozen dinners. Help yourself I guess… make me one too."

They all sat down at a rickety table in the kitchen with their frozen "dinners". Theo listened to their stories with amazement.

"–So I accidentally ended up on their turf. Mind you, I was just starting out and looking for a client. I didn't know where I was! That was when I saw Malachi. God I hate him…" Sasha grimaced. 

Theo leaned in and rested his head in one of his hands, "What happened? With this Malachi guy, I mean."

Her smile slowly faded from her face. "He… beat the shit out of me. Threw me across the pavement and told me to stay clear from there. Still have a scar from that day. See?" She moved a bit of hair from her face and low and behold, there was a small scar on her cheek, "never went over there again."

Theo was silent. He fidgeted in his seat.

Glenn was pretending to sleep then jolted "awake". "Oh are you done? Geesh, thought you might go off on your entire life story!"

"No one's telling you to stay here and listen dumbass! Just go back to the lounge!" 

"Don't have to tell me twice. Hey," Glenn pointed at Theo then, "wanna come with us?"

"G-go with you? Why?"

"I don't know, you've already had three run ins with three different gangs, figured you'd at least want to be familiar with one. Your choice of course." 

Theo looked down at his plastic plate and picked at the mystery meat. "But," he began in a hesitant voice, "I barely even know you guys. How can I trust that you're not going to.. I don't know, chop me up with a chainsaw."

Sasha's head darted toward him and she chuckled, "Bro if we wanted you dead, we would have done it when you snuck into the lounge. You also seem pretty chill knowing that we broke into your house."

Theo nodded, "Okay yeah, those are fair points. What would be the purpose though?"

"We've been watching you since that night when you puked all over the place," Glenn began, "you are a sad little man with a sad little life. Personally…" he gave a wicked grin, "I think you need a little more action in your life. Maybe some extra cash wouldn't hurt either…"

Glenn reached in his pocket and fished out a cigar to which Theo slowly lowered Glenn's hand, "Please don't light that in here, it stinks enough as it is." 

Glenn shrugged and stuffed it back in his pocket. 

"I've always lived a peaceful life. That's just how I am," Theo mumbled. 

"Boring?" Sasha quipped.

"Yes! Okay I'm boring. I can't be in a-a a gang! I mean, what do you guys even do? The only impression I have of you guys is that-that Avery guy chopping someone with a chainsaw! I'm still seeing that in my nightmares…."

Glenn stood up to head for the door, "All ya gotta say is no kid. Just remember: in this town, it's either kill or get killed. Especially now that Salvatore's men have seen you. Malachi is his little lap dog so I'd be on the watch out for him." He opened the door to leave.

"But–"

Glenn stopped in the door frame and looked back. "Hmm?"

"He… let me go. Why?" Theo questioned with a raise of his eyebrow. 

Sasha pondered and shrugged. "I have no idea why he'd let you go actually. I'm kinda curious to be completely honest. Do you know him?"

"Of course I don't! How would I know him?"

"Geez it's just a question. Hmm, there's gotta be a reason… wait. You should come with us! You don't even have to join or anything, we can just offer you protection. People pay for that, you know? And you'll be getting it for free!"

"I don't know…" 

"Oh come on! What else are you going to do? Stare at that blank document on your computer some more over there?" She cocked her head in the direction of his pathetic working space on the couch. 

Theo quickly got up and shut the lid of his computer and swiveled his head back towards her. His nostrils flared and his teeth began to clench. "So you guys are just going to come in here and act like me making an honest living is dumb or something? I don't even know you people and you're making me feel stupid for having a dream."

Glenn came back into the apartment with his arms up, slightly waving, "Whoa whoa! No one said having a dream was stupid. Listen, me and Sasha here will just leave. Alright?" He tapped on Sasha's shoulder. 

Sasha hesitated. She looked back before leaving, "What is your dream?"

Theo sat down with a sigh, "Really all I want is– it sounds stupid when I say it out loud."

"Just say it then."

"It's embarrassing…"

"Oh c'mon!" Sasha whined.

"I want to be somebody! I've been this invisible thing all of my life and all I really want is to be seen. I'm tired of living in a shadow. That's all," his shoulders slumped and he covered his eyes with a hand, "I feel like such a failure."

Sasha's face softened and she walked over to him and sat on the couch with him. "I didn't mean anything bad by the blank screen. You know, these people you're trying to impress in your life, even if you do make it big, will that change anything? Glenn and I have been watching you for what? Two weeks? No offense but we haven't seen anybody even visit you. Do you really think they're going to care when you make more money or whatever? I know I've felt alone and unwanted but there's always going to be someone out there that will make you feel whole. They'll make you feel worth something ya know? Just... think about coming with us okay?"

Theo's throat clenched up and he balled his fists. Sasha gave him a crooked smile and got up from the couch to join Glenn in the hallway. 

Glenn was fiddling around on his phone puffing away on an almost spent cigar. He glanced up from his phone and pulled his sunglasses down.

"Ya done with your therapy session?" He chuckled. 

"Glenn shut up, just because you don't have any goals in life doesn't mean no one else does…" 

Glenn rolled his eyes and trudged on by her. She looked back to see if Theo was following. The hallway was vacant as ever. She shook her head and went down the stairs.

"Wait!"

Sasha turned around and sure enough, Theo came running down the hall throwing on a coat in a clumsy manner. She put a hand on her hip. 

"Are you sure about this? You know you're on the radar now right? Those guys you tangled with last night will recognize your face," she stated, "I mean I want you to come but just letting you know what you're getting into."

Theo scratched the back of his neck and adjusted the collar of his turtleneck, "Yeah I know. It's just– even though I'm scared, I still can't help but be curious about you guys. I want to see what it's like, what you guys do and how you live."

"Really?" Glenn threw his cigar butt on the ground and ground it into the pavement, "so… you want in? I'm telling ya man, I know you think it's shady but damn does it have some perks."

"Perks?"

"Money!" He threw his hands in the air, "Lots of it! Lots of puss too, women love this shit."

Sasha's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. "That is definitely not what we're all about Theo. We also help people. Of course the money is nice but I'm also going to be real with you. It can be… downright awful sometimes. I'm talking mentally."

"Oh yeah, it can get bad. We have seen some shit! And the others in the group have been through much worse than us. They haven't even talked to us about it. They won't even give us clues. That just goes to show ya, there's some real evil in this town man. That's why we find 'em and kill 'em," Glenn drawled on the last sentence. 

Theo leaned in with a set of wide eyes, "You… kill them?"

"I don't know if you've noticed, but the law enforcement here is kinda… non-existent? And the few good ones they have don't have the power to do anything. So, you know who does?" Sasha asked.

"Uh, you guys?"

"Bingo."

"But how–"

"Ay! Shut up!" Glenn took out his phone and began talking with someone. After a few affirmations, he hung up. "Heh, we got ourselves a ride today."

"Who is it?" Sasha asked. 

"Rico."

She gave him a sly smile. 

"What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing, just funny how your voice changes when you talk to him."

Glenn's face lit up red. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean? He's a cool guy so I'll talk nice to him. Jesus Christ why is everything gay with you!?"

"I didn't even say anything about it being gay," she bit her lip to stifle a laugh.

"Oh shut up before I fart on you."

"What the fuck?" She laughed.

Glenn began walking toward the street, "Alright let's at least go wait somewhere in the meantime. Tired of standing out here like a bunch of dipshits."

Theo glanced back at his apartment then turned back and watched both of them walk further and further away. Sasha must have noticed because she turned and gestured for him to follow. He sighed and jogged to catch up to them.

"Where are we going?" He asked out of breath. 

"Food," Glenn and Sasha said in unison.

***

Theo was once again tagging along behind the two listening to their conversations. Sasha was teasing Glenn about something; he could tell because the tips of his ears were a shade of scarlet. He smiled and enjoyed the scenery of the city. He would not have thought somewhere this pretty could be this screwed up. 

He really couldn't judge it though, he had only been there a measly two weeks. It wasn't fair to label it as a lost cause. Obviously if people here are thriving, that meant he could too. As a gangster though? He couldn't even picture himself doing anything like what he had already seen. The thought alone sent a chill down his spine.

Glenn abruptly turned back to look at Theo and pointed up at a sign, "Pho good for you?"

"Uh I've never had any."

Glenn pulled his glasses down onto the bridge of his nose. "You for real? Damn you're missin' out man. I'll have to make you some of my famous homemade stuff. If you can survive long enough that is."

Sasha rolled her eyes, "Don't listen to him, you're not going to be just thrown into crazy shit. We'll let the higher ups size you up." She winked and turned to smack Glenn playfully on the head then went on into the small building. Theo and Glenn followed.

The moment he walked through the door, there was a symphony of savory smells. His shoulders slumped and his jaw unclenched. Everyone looked so friendly and welcoming. Well, all but one table in the back. There were three gentlemen in suits slurping on noodles. It wasn't even really slurping, it was the most graceful way of eating noodles that Theo had ever seen.

Glenn must have noticed him staring because he grabbed the back of Theo's head and pointed it toward himself. "You got a staring problem or what?"

"No it's just–"

"You don't want to have any beef with them. And I'm not talking about eating with them either."

Theo's eyes bugged out, "What do you mean? Are they part of those guys that kicked my ass last night?" He muttered with a slight shake in his voice.

"Nah. They're worse. That's this city's yakuza sect. Well only a few of them. You don't need to worry too much about them though. We're on good terms with them… for now."

Theo bit on one of his hanged nails and stared at the ground. Glenn smiled and gave Theo's shoulder a firm pat. "You worry too much man. They aren't going to just kill you on sight. Give them a reason to then yeah, you're fucked. Just follow our lead eh? And order some damn food instead of staring at people."

Sasha spun around and pointed at the board, "They have a special on the beef one, want to get one with me Theo?"

"Sure," he muttered.

They grabbed their chopsticks from the counter and found a booth to sit at. Of course, Sasha sat next to Glenn and Theo sat on the opposite side of them by himself. Feeling awkward, he began playing with his chopsticks.

"When's Rico coming by?" Sasha asked while breaking her own chopsticks apart.

"I told him we'd grab a bite to eat first and that we had a new friend to introduce to them." 

Sasha nodded, "What did he say to that?"

"You know Rico, doesn't have much to say about anything. Heh," he grinned, "Except when you call his pecs 'boobs'. Pisses him off every time."

"Well I mean, they pretty much are boobs at this point. I like ladies but damn, those are some phat tits!" 

Glenn let out a shrill laugh making everyone in the restaurant turn to stare at them. Theo wanted to hide under the table. He was almost regretting his decision to come with them until he saw a waitress coming their way with three big bowls of Pho. It smelt heavenly.

They ate in silence apart from the random moans and slurping of noodles. 

Theo didn't know what to talk about with these people. What on earth could they have in common with him? He didn't think they were interested in the coffee shop he found or the bookstore. That was about the only excitement he had had in the past week. 

So instead of making conversation, he stared out of the large windows at the front of the shop. He was watching people walk by when he noticed a car stop in front of the building. He didn't think anything of it until he heard the men in the back of the room stand up. The yakuza members. His head swiveled towards them then back to Glenn. When Theo saw Sasha's eyes widen he knew something was wrong.

Everything felt like it was in slow motion.

Glenn's head snapped toward the front of the store and then he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Everyone get down! Hide under something!"

Seconds later the sound of glass shattering filled the shop, then came the guns. Theo cowered under the table and covered his ears. Sasha and Glenn were yelling at each other about something then they looked at Theo and said something but he couldn't hear them. The only thing he could hear was the deafening sound of automatic guns and his own heartbeat in his ear.

Theo was frozen in place and in so much shock, he didn't even notice that Sasha and Glenn had left from under the table. He gathered his courage and peeked from beneath the table cloth. Glenn was on the ground propped up on the side of the counter with his revolver in his hand. Sasha was dragging a lady to the safety of behind the counters. 

Glenn began shooting back but quickly gave up. The shooting never seemed to end. Then Theo heard an even louder bang from the front of the shop. The shooting stopped all together and there was a disturbing silence. People were whimpering and crying. Then as soon as it stopped it started up again except this time there were retaliating gunshots. They were definitely not the automatic guns the other guys were using, these were way louder. 

The gunshots began to fade away. There was the squealing of tires and then that silence was back.

Suddenly, Theo was being yanked out from under the table by Glenn. Sasha was on her phone; calling the police most likely. 

Glenn scanned the room and called out, "Is anyone seriously hurt?!"

No one answered which Theo could only guess was a good thing. Glenn reverted his attention Theo, "You okay kid? You're not hurt are ya?"

Theo shook his head fervently.

"Okay… we gotta get out of here. Actually," he peered out the window then back into the shop, "our ride is here."

Sasha was putting her gun away and talking to the woman she had dragged out of the gunfire. Then she hurried over to Theo and Glenn. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah. How 'bout her? Anything serious?"

"No," she said winded, "she got grazed on her upper arm. She's fine."

Glenn nodded. "Alright, let's get the fuck outta here, c'mon Theo." He guided Theo in front of him and walked him out of the store. Sasha followed behind. 

Abruptly Glenn turned back around and threw a roll of cash to the lady at the front desk. "That should be enough to cover the repairs. And our food as well."

Then he went on his way.

Right in front of the shop, there was a car parked. A tall and wide man rushed over to them. "What happened? Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah yeah yeah, we're fine. Another fuckin' drive by. Just get us over to the lounge. By the way Theo, this is Rico."

Rico outstretched a hand but withdrew it awkwardly when Theo wasn't reciprocating.

Theo stared at the ground without blinking. His ears were still ringing and he didn't even realize Sasha was trying to talk to him. His heart wouldn't slow down.

Sasha helped him in the car and sat next to him. She climbed up in between the two front seats where Glenn and Rico were conversing about something.

"Hey," she interrupted. They both turned to look at her, "I think Theo here is in shock or something. He's super pale."

Rico input coordinates into the car and peaked around the headrest to look at Theo. Then he turned to Sasha, "Is his skin clammy? It could be shock. He's obviously not used to this. That'll happen to anyone."

"Lemme see," she placed a hand on his head and pulled it away, "yeah he's on fire. Super sweaty too."

Glenn sighed, "Geez just let him lay down or something. Damn, the guy has theatrics over everything."

"Glenn it's not something you can just control, give the kid a break. We're all used to this shit. He isn't," Rico explained.

Glenn rolled his eyes and slunk down in his seat. "Fine, let's go already.

The last thing Theo remembered hearing was Sasha telling him to lay down. He felt tears welling in his eyes but wiped them away so no one would see. He lied down and immediately fell asleep.

***

When he awoke, he was laying on a very nice couch. There was a coffee table and on it was a glass of water and a few small pills. Must be pain relievers. He sat up and wiped his eyes and scanned the room. There was another couch adjacent to the one he was on then there was a tv hanging on the wall in front of him. It was very dim as well, there were a few windows with light streaming in.

He could feel the thrumming of music beneath him. The bass vibrated throughout his entire body and made his headache worse. This must have been the lounge they were talking about. He was on the second floor judging by the sound of the music.

Next to the TV, there was a door. He was tempted to get up and leave but instead he grabbed the glass of water and pills. Hopefully that would help the throbbing in his head. 

The door handle turned and Theo almost jumped out of his skin. It was the Rico guy he saw before passing out. He was very nice on the eyes. With his hazel eyes and chestnut hair. He had a very soft voice too for how big he was. Embarrassing as it was, Theo noticed the man's rather large chest area. Guess they were right about that…

"Hey, Theo right? How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Better. My head's killing me though. What… what just happened?"

Rico sat down on the couch next to him and turned off the TV.

"Listen kid, if you want to stay, that's your call but you can leave if you want and you don't have to look back."

"But–"

"I know. Glenn and Sasha probably begged you to come with them didn't they? They have good intentions but they're well… dumb. They romanticize this life a bit too much. A lot of people do. It's not for the faint of heart so I'll just warn you before you talk to the boss; once you're in, there's no leaving."

"No leaving? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean once you get caught up in it, it's hard to get out. You get trapped in the wealth, the excitement, the influence you have on people. You can get drunk off of that shit and by the time you're sober it's too late to fix anything. Not to mention all of the people that will want you dead. You'll be a target even after leaving."

Theo nodded and hung his head to look at the ground, "I know. I guess at this point I just don't care. I don't have anything to lose. I'm getting nowhere in my career, my family forgets that I exist, I don't have any friends, I have nothing."

"You have your freedom."

Theo was silent. Rico stood up and sighed. "I understand. As long as you know what you're getting yourself into."

Then as soon as he came, he left. 

Without the tv on, the vast room was eerily quiet. It was like it was only him and his thoughts now. At this point though, he didn't need to think much. He was tired of living the life he had. Even though his body reacted terribly to these situations, he felt alive. He had never felt so alive in all of his life. Back in Eminence his life had been the same thing day after day. Work, then home, work, etc. He was sick of it deep down. He couldn't go back to that knowing this was within his grasp.

Then the door slammed open again and Avery came clobbering over to him, followed by Jarvis, Sasha, Glenn, and Rico. Avery had a big smile on his face. He didn't have red eyes today. They were normal. A deep shade of blue so dark they almost appeared black.

"Hey! If it isn't the puke kid!" He sat next to Theo and slapped an arm around his shoulders, "so I hear you want to join this merry band of dumbfucks. You've come to the right place. Everything I know, you'll know. All of us here will teach you what you need to make the most out of living here."

Sasha and Glenn were standing behind Jarvis giving him thumbs up. Jarvis was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Avery darling, don't get him too excited. He still needs to pass the test," Jarvis reminded him.

"Oh…. Yeah," he slid his arm off of Theo's shoulder.

Theo's eyes widened. "Test? What test?"

Jarvis put a hand on his hip, "To make sure you are up to par with us, you must complete a deal."

"Deal?"

"Yes. A drug deal."

Theo felt his heart drop. This is not what he expected. "Umm drugs? You guys deal drugs?"

"No shit," Glenn interrupted, "how else do you think we get any money?"

"We also extort people! Mostly rich assholes though who are kinda deserving of it," Sasha added.

Theo nodded slowly. He took a deep breath and gazed up at all of them, "Alright. I'll do it. What do I do?"

Jarvis raised an eyebrow, "Glenn and Sasha will accompany you. It won't be anything too outlandish. We just want to see how you hold up. You seem quite timid so this should be interesting."

Avery stood up and walked over to Jarvis, "Have more faith in the kid. I was scared shitless on my first deal."

"Yes but you were a great deal younger than he is now. I will not let just anybody in. They must be competent. Or else we're wasting our time," Jarvis huffed.

"Well that's not entirely up to you is it?" 

Jarvis's eyebrows furrowed, "I hope you have not forgotten who got this up and running Avery! Now if I say he needs to prove himself, then that is how it will be!"

Avery gave a wicked grin.

Jarvis scowled and then blushed. "You idiot. I hate when you get me mad on purpose."

Avery grabbed Jarvis's chin and played with his bottom lip. "You stress too much, he'll do fine. I can't get enough of your angry face though. Love that little pout…"

Everyone else was staring at the floor awkwardly. Theo almost wanted to laugh but he knew that was a horrible idea with how annoyed Jarvis was getting.

Sasha moved from behind them and made her way over to Theo. She sat down next to him and crossed her legs.

"Eww am I right?" She snickered, "I know it sounds really scary but it really isn't. If I can do it, you definitely can. If they give you problems, just conjure up all the rage you have in your lanky body and show them who's boss. Well not boss persé but you get what I'm saying, hah."

"You think so?"

"Yup."

"Okay. I guess I'm ready."

"Oh wait," she got up and pulled Theo with her, "we got to get you a gun. Glenn!"

Glenn perked up and stood up from the couch. "Got you covered."

Sasha leaned in to talk in Theo's ear, "Glenn's our firearm expert. He also deals with stuff like bombs and whatnot but that's rare when we use that."

"A gun? Bombs…?"

Theo finally felt reality setting in and he felt woozy.

"What have I gotten myself into?" He thought.

Then he followed Sasha and Glenn out of the door and down the stairs.

"Good luck Theo! Try not to die!" Avery shouted from the room.

Theo felt sick but gathered his courage and ran out of the club with a random surge of excitement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you guys think? I honestly hate the way I write but it's helping me visualize things a bit better. I know the key plot points but writing the little things in between is a lot trickier than I thought holy poop... Lol


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned! This chapter ended up being longer than I anticipated and I didn't get to where I wanted to so that will be in the NEXT chapter heheh. Just a warning, there is a racial slur towards the end. Hope you enjoy!

The contents of Theo's stomach were sloshing about as he climbed into the car with Sasha. Glenn and Rico slowly trudged over to the car while talking to each other. Rico ducked into the passenger's seat while Glenn was the one in the driver's seat this time. His head snapped over to Theo, "You ain't gonna throw up or pass out in here are ya?"

Theo rolled his eyes, "Guess I'm never living that down," he hissed under his breath. 

Glenn flashed a cheeky smile while chewing on a wad of gum, "Alright. Here's the deal. The guy we're meeting up with is a regular. It's gonna be a simple exchange. He gives you the money, you give him the shit. Got it? There shouldn't be any problems." He threw a baggie of what Theo suspected was cocaine. "That's one eighths of an ounce. You can shake around one-fifty off the stinky bastard."

He stared down at the white powder, "Sounds simple enough I guess. I wouldn't know…"

Sasha nudged his shoulder, "If you have any problems at all, flag us down. We'll be outside waiting. He lives in a shitty run down apartment so we'll be listening in on your conversation."

"What– what do I do if he doesn't have the money?" Theo asked with hesitation.

"That's where your gun comes in bucko," Glenn started, "Scare him a bit. I know this guy, he has dough to spare. If he doesn't have the money it's because he's saving it for hookers or some other trashy shit. I'm tired of him thinking he can get shit from us for free."

Theo had a deadpan expression, "And you want my lanky ass to intimidate him? Look at me! I look like a librarian, how am I supposed to scare him? Not to mention I have no idea how to use this gun!"

"Hey size or girth ain't got nothin' to do with it my man. It's your attitude and you won't need to use the gun, I'll have it on safety. The guy is almost always compliant anyways."

"Safety?" Theo questioned.

Glenn pulled out the pistol he had for Theo, "See this lil switch here? Safety on," then he switched it again, "Safety off. When safety is off, that's when death happens. Got it? You can do this. Hey! at least you're taller than me!"

"He's right," Sasha added, "I mean look at Glenn, he's an actual gnome and he gets shit done!"

Glenn blinked and then turned back around to input the coordinates, "See the shit I gotta put up with Rico? She's a fuckin' bully…"

Rico gave out a soft chuckle but remained silent. 

"Okay, let's get out of here."

The car lurched forward making Theo's already throbbing brain crash around in his skull. 

He took a deep breath and focused on the bright and colorful lights of the city.

***

Theo practically dissociated the entire time on the way there. He hadn't realized the car stopped until Sasha was poking at his cheek. He shook himself out of his stupor and blinked at her.

"C'mon, just go and get it done. We decided to just stay in the car. If anything goes wrong, just haul ass back here alright?" She said, "his room number is 12 on the top floor."

Theo nodded and stared at the baggy in his pocket. His mind went blank and he exited the car, he could vaguely hear Glenn encouraging him but he really didn't pay attention to what he was saying. All he could really hear was the thrumming of his own heart.

He went up the stairs and heard a tv blaring. It sounded like someone was either being brutally murdered or screwed, Theo couldn't really tell the difference. He spotted a worn out 12 next to the door with the loud sounds.

He nervously knocked on the door and listened to the voice approaching the door. He was talking to someone else. "They said it was only supposed to be the one guy. Who is he talking to?" Theo thought. He bit on his nails as he waited.

The door flew open and a rather unhygienic man stood in the doorframe looking at Theo with malice. "What the fuck do you want?" He puffed on a cigarette and itched his gut.

Theo took a deep breath and gathered himself. "I– I think you know why I'm here," he stated with the best "badass" voice he could conjure.

"No I don't. I'll ask only one more time, what do ya want?" The man's whisky throat vibrated in Theo's head. 

"I uh– I've got the stuff."

"What stuff?"

"The umm… crack?" He cringed as he said it. 

The man bursted out a wheezy laugh, "The cocaine? You must be with Sasha and the gang. Come on in. Oh and don't mind my brother, the bastard hasn't left the couch for almost a week."

A pungent smell smacked Theo square in the face when he walked in. There was a very distinct smell of body odor and something sour. His nose crinkled and he held his breath for the time being.

The man's brother glanced over at them and back to the tv. "Who's this moron?"

"Who cares? He brought us the shit."

The brother finally stopped watching the TV and stood up and walked towards Theo. The man towered over him and Theo himself was pretty tall. "Well aren't you a cute little thing with your turtleneck. I think you're lost."

"No I really do have the stuff. An eighth of an ounce?" Theo said while showing the baggie of drugs.

The man grabbed the bag and opened it. He stuck a finger in the powder then shoved a bit in his mouth. "Alright. So what's the price?"

Shit. Theo couldn't remember the price he was supposed to ask for. Was it one-fifty or two-hundred? Just round it up and hope for the best.

"Umm, for that it'll be two-fifty."

"Two-fifty?!" The man spat in his face.

"No no no! I mean two-hundred."

The man grabbed the lapels of Theo's coat and dragged him closer to his face. "What's the meaning of this? You trying to rip me off or something you little piece of shit?!"

Theo could feel his heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't even think of what to say. Then he remembered he had the gun in his coat. With a burst of adrenaline, he reached for it and haphazardly shoved the muzzle of the gun right into the underside of the man's jaw. 

He immediately let go of Theo's coat and backed away with his hands up in the air. The other man wasn't paying attention until he saw the gun. "What the fuck did you do? I never have a problem with these guys!"

"It's not me! This little fucker is trying to rip me off! What are ya gonna do? Huh? Shoot me?" The man taunted Theo.

Theo's grip on the pistol tightened though it was visibly shaking. He swallowed hard and clenched his jaw. "Just give me the money and I'll leave." There was a slight tremble to his voice.

The man gave him a sly smile, "No. I ain't giving you shit. Go ahead and shoot me."

The other man was panicking looking for the money but his brother stopped him, "I said we ain't paying him shit! C'mon pretty boy, shoot me!"

Theo was genuinely getting angry now. "Give me the fucking money!"

"Shoot. Me."

Theo shut his eyes tight and squeezed on the trigger. It made a click and that was it. There was no gunshot. It felt like his stomach fell out of his ass. The man let out raucous laughter and grabbed Theo by the hair and punched him hard enough to make him see stars. He fell on the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"Dumbass had his gun on safety. Now, what should I do with you?" He said while lifting Theo up with his hair and straddling his waist. Theo felt tears sting in his eyes. "I think that pretty little mouth of yours could be put to better use."

The other brother was pacing behind him. "Bro what the fuck are you doing? Do you know who you're messing with? He works for Avery!"

"Who the fuck is Avery? Stay out of this! Pick up the baggie, I think it fell over there–"

When he turned around the muzzle of the pistol was back in his face.

"Dumbass, didn't you hear? The safety's on! You've obviously never held a gun–"

Before he could even finish his sentence, there was a deafening boom and a stream of blood that pooled onto his chest. The man went limp and fell onto Theo's lap. He quickly pushed him off but not before taking the now dead man's wallet. He stood up clumsily and pointed the gun at the other man who was now looking at his dead brother shouting incoherent obscenities.

Theo picked up the baggie and threw it at the man, "Here's your shit."

"You- you killed him!" He screamed.

"I'd say to teach your brother not to shove his dick into someone's face but he won't be doing that anymore, will he?" Theo fumed then spit a drop of blood that had landed on his lip.

He slammed the door open and trudged his way to the car. He banged on the door to alert them he was there. Sasha turned around to look out the window with a stupid smile on her face. They were obviously joking around and laughing but when she saw him, her expression dropped. She opened the door. "Theo… what happened?"

He immediately burst into tears. 

Rico exited the car and put a hand on Theo's shoulder, "Are you hurt? What happened in there? Is that… blood?" He asked while swiping a miniscule amount of blood that had sprayed onto his face with his thumb.

"I–," Theo hiccuped, "I killed him! I shot him in the head! I– I didn't mean to, he thought I was trying to rip him off or something and then he–"

Sasha shushed him and shook her head, "You don't have to talk about it, let's just get back to the lounge alright?"

Theo nodded his head hesitantly and obeyed her. He sat down in the back seat and stared out the window, replaying what had just happened over and over in his head.

Rico had gone into the apartment to investigate the situation. They all sat in silence as they waited for him to return. 

When he came back, he had a grave look on his face as he sat down in the passenger's seat.

Theo could hear Glenn whispering to Rico in the front.

"That… wasn't supposed to happen. Who the fuck did he shoot? It wasn't our stinky bastard was it? Jeremy?"

Rico shook his head, "No he's fine. It was his brother. I've never seen him before but I talked to Jeremy and he said that something like this was bound to happen eventually. His brother was a bigger loser than him by the sounds of it. A drunk."

Glenn responded with a soft grunt. He turned around to look at Theo. 

He was staring vacantly at the floor. Glenn shook his head as he started the car up. "Let's take him to your brother before we go to the lounge."

"Edward's not in right now. Let's just get him out of here. I don't think he's hurt…. physically," Rico mumbled.

"Yeah…" Glenn sighed.

The rest of the drive was utter silence. Sasha watched over Theo like a hawk. Waiting for him to snap out of it.

Theo couldn't get the image of how much blood flowed from the man's head and nose. It was burned into his head now. He was hoping this was a one time thing.

The rest of the time wouldn't be so traumatizing… right?

***

Theo's head was still in a haze, he still hadn't realized that they were parked in front of the lounge. When he finally came around, all three of them were staring at him. 

"You… are you alright?" Rico asked softly.

Theo blinked and nodded. Sasha put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

She sighed, "It gets a little easier but you never really get their faces out of your head."

"Yeah, no one enjoys it. Unless you're a psychopath I guess," Glenn tried to lighten the mood. It slightly worked when Theo lifted the corner of his mouth. "Let's get you inside. You can finally meet the boss! And meet the rest of the gang."

"Yeah let's go and have some fun. Oh– Did you get the money? Not to bring up that again…"

Theo stuck his hand in his pocket and fished out the dead man's wallet. "Is this enough?"

Sasha stretched her hand to grab it but not before Glenn snatched it out of Theo's hand first. He opened it up and flipped around through the various folds and pockets of it. "Hmm, there's a credit card… a gift card to some sex shop…. and– whoa!"

"What?" Theo asked.

Glenn grabbed a clip of money and counted, "This fucking idiot was walking around with ten grand in his wallet. Not bad. Not bad at all Theo."

"Avery's gonna like the sound of that," Rico added.

"Well let's get our dumbasses in there!"

Sasha looked at Theo and whispered, "You weirded out by how much money that guy had on him?"

He merely shrugged and undid his seat belt.

They all scurried out of the car and made their way to the top floor of the lounge in the room that Theo woke up in.

Glenn practically busted down the door and scared both Avery and Jarvis who were playing some kind of board game.

Jarvis threw his game piece, "Bloody hell! Can anyone enter this room normally?!" 

"Heh sorry… are you playing Candy Land?" Glenn said while pointing at the now disarrayed game board.

Jarvis's face turned a shade of pink, "It was Avery's idea," he said while covering his face.

Avery smiled, "Yeah and because of you guys, we'll never reach Gumdrop Mountain. Damn it all… okay what do you idiots want?"

Glenn finally came through the door and brought in Theo behind him with Sasha and Rico following. 

"Hey!" Avery bellowed with his arms outstretched, "Theo my man, how was your first deal– is that blood on your shirt? Aww shit what happened?"

Theo swallowed the hard lump in his throat and answered with a dry, "Well, umm…"

Avery scratched at his beard, "Was it Jeremy?"

Theo looked back at the other three and turned back around to Avery, "No, it was his brother. I… shot and killed him."

"Is that so? Didn't think he had a brother… why'd you shoot him? If ya don't mind me askin'."

"Avery–" Jarvis warned.

"No no, it's alright. I want to know what scared this kid to the point of killing him. So, what exactly happened?"

Theo clenched his fists and bit on his bottom lip. He could still smell the horrendous body odor of the man, still feel his grubby fingers laced in his hair.

"I– I messed up on the fee. I accidentally said more than the regular price I guess. He thought I was trying to cheat him. So I wanted to scare him. I pulled out my gun but being the idiot I am, I didn't know the safety was on. He laughed at me and then– and then–"

"Theo, you don't have to continue," Sasha said softly behind him.

"No, let him finish," Avery waved a hand at Sasha.

"He straddled my waist. Like he was going to… assault my mouth. I panicked and when he turned around I got the safety off and well…"

"Okay, that's good enough. Let me tell you something, what you gave him was a mercy kill. If you would've left him alive and told me what he did to you– oh man I would've beat his head in til it was ground beef. I don't tolerate that bullshit. No one deserves that shit. Good for you. I'm glad ya killed him. One less rat on the street."

"Really?" Theo hesitated. 

"Really," he said while standing up, "I honestly don't even care if you got the money or not but–"

"Oh yeah! That reminds me!" Glenn mumbled behind Theo. He was wrestling with something in his pocket, "Avery, catch!"

Avery caught the clip of money and counted then glanced up at Theo, "You and me kid, I think we're going to get along just fine."

Theo didn't know what to say so he smiled awkwardly and fiddled with his fingers.

Avery slapped Theo on the back almost knocking the air out of him, "Well Theo, welcome to the gang! You won't be able to meet the big guys right now unfortunately, they left for a business trip a few days ago but they'll be back soon. In the meantime, you'll work under me and Jarvis. Mostly me, Jarvis doesn't know much about this stuff."

"Oh I do too I just don't care for it. I'd much rather stick to what I am good at," Jarvis purred. Theo couldn't get over how smooth his voice was.

"Yeah, Jarvis here is our assassin. You want someone killed, he's your guy. We mostly deal with your everyday creeps but sometimes we'll get a hit on the higher ups. That's some good money."

"Precisely… now Theo, you are excused. Go home or stay as you please. Rico will give you everyone's phone number. When that phone rings, you answer. Understand?" Jarvis explained.

"Yes sir."

"Excellent. Now I would like to resume with my activities."

"Playing Candy Land?" Sasha chuckled.

"What of it? Am I not allowed to indulge in such things?"

"No it's just… it's a kids game."

Jarvis glared at her and Avery laughed and sat down next to him, "Don't worry about it babe, let's just set the board up again," he said while rubbing Jarvis's upper arm.

"Okay," Rico interrupted, "Theo let's take you home."

"Right…"

"You're not going to stay with us in the lounge? We can get a drink or something!" Sasha blurted. 

Rico gave her a look and she grabbed Glenn by his jacket. "Fine, you can take him home then. I want a whiskey sour. Plus Yolanda is performing tonight," she gushed. 

"Hah! You're whipped," Glenn laughed while leaving. 

Sasha followed behind him, "Bitch, anyone would be whipped for that lady..." their laughter faded as they went down the stairs. 

Rico rolled his eyes and gestured his head towards the door. "C'mon."

Theo followed him.

***

When they stopped in front of Theo's apartment, there was an awkward moment of silence between him and Rico in the car. He finally glanced over at Rico but he was already looking at him. It made Theo's face flush. 

"You got all of our numbers right?" Rico asked.

"Yeah, I got them."

Rico bit the inside of his cheek and glanced at the floor before looking back at Theo.

"Listen, if you need anything call me. Of course you can call the other two morons but they aren't as dependable. You need to learn how to use a gun and how to defend yourself. You got very lucky today Theo. It very easily could've been your last, you know that right?"

"I know," Theo mumbled, "it was weird though, when I– when I shot him, I felt like a different person. It actually felt good. Like I had control over something in my life for once," his voice rose in excitement, "I didn't let him walk all over me! I've never done something like that before!"

"Well yeah most people haven't shot someone in the head."

Theo gave him a deadpan face, "Well yeah, duh. It was that or that rancid dick in my mouth. That's not the point though. I almost never stand up for myself. I guess I feel like I deserve it sometimes. I don't know why I'm telling you all of this. Guess I don't have many friends now that I think of it."

Rico chuckled with his deep voice, "Well you got a whole group of dumbass friends now. We got your back Theo. You ever want to talk, you know where we are. You're not alone here."

Theo opened the car door and looked back at Rico, "Do you think I'm cut out for this?"

"I'm gonna be honest with you, no one really is. It's something you just adapt to. Some of us really have no choice. It's just our lives now. You get used to it though."

"Oh."

The car door closed automatically and Rico started the car up again, "Alright, you get some sleep Theo. You'll be called whenever you're needed. See ya!"

He sped off and disappeared into the darkness. Theo stood there staring at the apartment building. Thinking that this may not be permanent. If he was good at this, the possibilities could be endless! Avery gave him half of the ten grand and he already had plans to buy a new bed and stove. If he did more, he could move out of this dump entirely! He smirked as he looked down at the wad of money then shoved it back into his pocket. First things first though, a shower.

***

The blaring of his alarm made him jump ten feet into the air. He completely forgot it was his first day of work! He was already late. He clumsily dressed himself and grabbed a granola bar and ran out the door. He finally got a bus pass so he wouldn't have to walk there thank God.

How could he have forgotten? It must've been the excitement of last night. Then he suddenly felt like throwing himself into the trash. He got so caught up in this mafia stuff he forgot about his job so this meant he had to juggle the two. How was he ever going to get sleep again? He huffed as he got on the bus. 

***

As he exited the bus, stared at the building. How dull this would be in comparison to last night's events. He gathered himself and walked in.

When he sat at his new desk, his boss Skye was there to scare the crap out of him.

"Hi Theo!" She gleamed, "didn't mean to scare you I was just here to– oh my God… what happened to your face?"

Theo was confused for a second but remembered he had a busted lip and the signs of a black eye forming. He felt the scabbed over flesh and mustered up an excuse. 

"Umm I'm pretty clumsy so I probably–" he sighed and his cheery facade fell, "oh who am I kidding? I got my ass kicked several times since I moved here. Do I have a punchable face or something?" 

Skye's eyes were wide as she shook her head, "Not punchable at all Mr. Kessler. Do you want ice or anything? A comb for your hair?" She whispered to him in his little booth. 

He felt his hair and sighed. "...yes please."

She giggled and then made her way to her office.

What a great start to this job...

***

It had been almost a month and a half since Theo moved here. Though he was pretty much used to everything, he found that juggling his job and his secret night life infuriating. At the office he was expected to be all smiles and cheerfulness when in his head he was thinking how much he wanted to beat some of his co-workers heads in. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that without repercussions. He felt more and more tense as the days went on. Stupid things made him angry. Just the other day he was installing a new refrigerator and he stabbed the cheap linoleum flooring with a screwdriver. 

He was sick of writing stupid insignificant columns about stupid insignificant things. He knew no one cared and that no one even read the shit. He only really liked the nice little sum of money he got from it and his boss Skye. She was the only tolerable person there. 

He wouldn't have thought he would ever like gang life more than an office job. It was the only time he felt alive. There was always the risk that a deal could go wrong and it was exhilarating. Not to mention the money he was getting. Almost everything in his apartment had been replaced. If he kept up at this, he could move into another place entirely. 

He really liked everyone there as well. Glenn could be annoying but he was actually pretty funny. Sasha was too but she was obviously the more levelheaded of the two. Rico made him feel safe, he reminded him of his older brothers (on the rare occasion of them being nice). Avery and Jarvis were in their own little world. He didn't talk to them much but when he did it was mostly business related. The other two everyone talked about still hadn't shown up from their trip. Theo started to get suspicious, but that was probably just his anxiety.

These were all lingering thoughts in his head as he walked home from the lounge. He could afford a car by now but he liked walking through the city and all of its intricacies. It was like this place never went to sleep, there were always people wandering the streets. Where he was though, it was still pretty desolate. Though as he rounded a corner, he heard a voice. Two voices actually. It sounded like a tussle. 

He decided to mind his own business and kept walking. As he approached the voices closer though, his jaw clenched tight. 

"Enough of this shit! I'll show you not to fuck around with me you stupid slut!" A man spat.

"Ay! Vete a la chingada!"

The two people finally came into view. They were near the entrance of a parking garage. One was pinning the other to the wall and pulling at their hair. 

A gruff voice growled, "What the fuck did you just say to me? Say it in English you stupid spic!"

The other person spit in the man's face. This made him furious and he threw the person into the opening of the parking garage where it was even darker. 

"Leading me on and then saying no at the last second… you're gonna wish you didn't do that. Lucky for me, I have a lil solution for that…"

Theo noticed the person on the ground wasn't moving much. Something was wrong. His fists curled and he broke into a sprint. 

With all of his anger and frustration, he charged right into the assaulter and fell onto the ground with him.

"What the– who the fuck are you?!"

Theo answered him with a punch directly on his nose. Then he punched again and again, until the man was silent and his knuckles bloodied. Theo's chest huffed with labored breaths, he wiped his sweaty face and got off the man. He wasn't dead but he was certainly unconscious. 

Theo then scanned around for the other person. They weren't where he saw them last but he could hear footsteps receding from the area. He followed, "Hey! Wait!"

He caught up to the footsteps and saw the person wobbling around. Eventually, they fell onto the ground and remained still.

Theo ran over and knelt down, "Oh my God… are you okay? Did he hurt you–"

When he gently turned their face to not be on the ground, he gasped. It was a man. Theo pushed some of his long ebony hair out of his face. His hair must have been in a bun before it was turned into a mess on his head. He had a small scrape from falling onto the pavement but other than that, he was perfect. Not a blemish or mark on his face. Theo couldn't help but stare.

Then he stood up and searched to see if anyone else was around. There were just the two of them in this alleyway. Without thinking, he took his jacket off and wrapped it around his limp body, then picked the man up bridal style. He didn't even budge, his eyes were still sealed shut. It was really starting to worry him. He had to get him somewhere safe.

He situated himself and began the trek home with the beautiful stranger in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh? Was it decent? Lol keep in mind a lot of this stuff isn't concrete or that it will look better when it's drawn (I hope). Thank you guys for reading! I'll be back whenever lol


	5. Chapter 5

Theo's legs felt like rubber by the time he finally got home. The man in his arms stirred a few times so Theo's worries weren't completely gone but he felt a little better knowing he was able to move a bit.

He struggled getting the front door open with both of his hands full but he somehow managed. He quickly made his way over to the couch and set the man down gently. His eyelashes fluttered and then his eyebrows knit together, almost like he was in pain. Theo inspected his face and couldn't find anything. He didn't want to look any further but he couldn't stop thinking that something could be really wrong. 

Hesitantly, he grabbed the bottom of the man's shirt and lifted. He wasn't expecting the amount of muscle he saw. "He must be very active," he thought. With his fingers, he reached around his waist and felt around for any wounds. He didn't find anything but he felt intensely uncomfortable doing this so he quickly pulled the shirt back down. 

As he straightened the shirt out, he felt like a complete idiot. He tilted the man's head so he could see the side of his neck. There was a decent sized cut that was beginning to scab over but with him rustling things around, there was a stream of blood trickling down towards his clavicle. 

Theo went to his bathroom and scavenged for any sort of band-aid. He couldn't find any so he grabbed some toilet paper and scotch tape. 

Carefully, he put his makeshift bandage on the cut. He bit his lip when the blood seeped right through the toilet paper. With frustration, he took it off, smashed it into a ball and threw it somewhere within the room. He let out a sigh. 

As he looked at the wound, he squinted his eyes with disbelief. The cut was healing at a rapid pace. He wasn't sure if it was because he was sleep deprived or if he was just flat out seeing shit but the cut had closed completely only leaving a faint mark where it sealed. He stared in shock. 

With his fingertips, he gently swiped over the area where the cut had been. It really was gone. His eyebrows furrowed and he rubbed his chin with his thumb and index finger. He knew there was a cut there. What just happened? 

He tried to shake it off and went to find a blanket for the strange man lying unconscious on his couch. 

With delicacy, he situated the man so he would be a bit more comfortable in his slumber. Then he trudged off to bed himself after turning off all of the lights.

When his head hit the pillow he almost immediately fell asleep for once.

***

Something made Theo's eyes snap wide open. He thought he heard footsteps outside his room. He looked at his phone to see it was deep into the night. 

He heard the creaking of the floor outside the bedroom door and felt his heart rate increase steadily. The only thing it could be was the man he let sleep on his couch. He inwardly screamed at himself for how stupid he was. Of course letting a complete stranger sleep in your house was a horrible idea. He closed his eyes and readied himself for his own undoing. "Dumbest way to die ever…" he thought.

Reluctantly he climbed out of his bed and searched for a weapon of any kind. The closest thing he had was the plunger from his bathroom. He shrugged and wielded the bacteria infested weapon.

As he neared the door, he felt his stomach drop. He had no idea what he was going to find out there but he knew it wasn't going to be good. He took a deep breath and slammed the door open.

With his plunger in hand, he scanned the room. Of course he couldn't see much of anything seeing as it was pitch black. There was a small beam of light streaming in from the lights outside. In that beam he saw someone standing there. It had to be the man. Before he could swing the plunger back to hit him, he felt a hand wrap around his neck and another twisting his hand to drop the plunger.

What he saw made him gasp. The man was fully awake now but that wasn't what made Theo feel like he was dreaming. From underneath the man's shirt, he could see glowing, red, vein-like markings emerge. They thrummed as they spread on his body, like it was following the beat of his heart. His eyes began to glow a bright red as well. The entire eye was red!

The man had Theo in a vice like grip. He literally couldn't budge and assumed this was how he was going to die but then he heard him mumble something. Theo couldn't really respond though so he choked as a response. This made the man ease up on his grip. The man spoke again.

"It's you isn't it? Why do you keep showing up in my life?" The man's voice sounded almost… upset.

Theo was confused. For one, he couldn't even see his face to recognize him. Two, he was still being lightly choked. "What are you talking about?" Theo managed to choke out.

The man said nothing and let Theo go. Theo rubbed at his neck. "Wait! Who are you?" He coughed.

Theo switched the light on and scanned the room again. The front door was ajar, swinging from the force that it had been opened with. The man was gone. Theo felt more confused than ever. He knew what he saw but he had a hard time believing it. It must have been because he was so sleep deprived… right? He had to just forget about this or he would obsess over it.

He went back to bed and couldn't shut his eyes no matter how hard he tried. He kept seeing those burning red eyes looking up into his. They felt almost familiar but there was no way he knew anyone like that. He would surely remember them. He fell back asleep but he couldn't go back into deep sleep like before. That man was plaguing his thoughts. 

***

The next day was particularly slow for a Friday. Theo played with a pen at his desk in anticipation for when he could go home. Not home though, he'd most likely head over to the lounge and ask if Sasha or Glenn knew anything about what he had seen. 

He was replaying it in his head all day. There was no way he hallucinated that, it was clear as day in his memory. He had to find that man again. Was this a good idea? No. No it wasn't. With just his hand, he could have easily ended Theo right there. The strength he felt behind that hand was like nothing he had ever felt. It felt inhuman. He scratched his head.

"Theo you're still here? Your shift ended almost fifteen minutes ago!" A clear voice rang out behind him. Skye was peeking over his cubicle.

"Oh, sorry Skye I was just… thinking about someone…" his voice trailed off.

She gave a cheeky grin, "Oooh does Theo have a special someone?"

Theo tilted his head to the side and shrugged, "I guess you could say 'special' yeah… sure."

"Well," she beamed, "go on and get out of here! It's Friday! Have fun with your special person!"

"Thanks Skye, I'll see ya Monday I guess," he mumbled while gathering his stuff.

"Bye Theo!" She waved.

His special person. He chuckled as he left the building.

***

While walking down the road, Theo could already hear the loud thrumming of bass coming from the lounge. He groaned when he thought of how many people were probably packed in there. He'd have to bear with it though, he needed some answers.

The blue and pink lights blinded him as he made his way through the main party place. When he finally got to the back and up the stairs he felt his nerves calm a bit. That was before he opened the door to the sitting room and heard voices. They sounded distressed. He could only recognize Jarvis's voice. There were two other voices he didn't know.

"–Jarvis you don't understand! They– they didn't just withhold us! They did things to us! Taking our blood among other things, I think they were going to harvest our organs or something!" A woman's voice whispered harshly.

"Why would they do that? We've worked with them for years with no issue. Do you think they're working under someone else?" Jarvis questioned.

"I don't know but they weren't playing around. I still don't know how they could've known unless…".

"You don't think…?"

"I know so," the woman interrupted, "There's no other way they could know!"

Then a man's deep voice said, "They must have thought I had it too then, only because of how we're related."

"I see… well what should we–" Jarvis suddenly stopped. 

Theo could hear footsteps and then was met with Jarvis's suited chest, he looked up at him. "Are you in need of assistance Theo?" His sultry voice made Theo's stomach do backflips.

"N-no I just wanted to relax."

Jarvis crossed his arms gracefully, "I'm sorry but you'll have to wait. I believe Glenn is downstairs somewhere, you can go talk to him in the meantime, yes? It won't be long."

"Alright, no problem," Theo scratched the back of his neck and made his way down the stairs. He heard the door slam behind him. 

What in the world were they even talking about? Who were the two people talking? They must have been the two that went on the business trip. Something weird was going on but Theo didn't know what. He left with even more questions!

He sighed and approached one of the booths adjacent to the dancefloor. Within the booth was an obviously inebriated Glenn talking to a woman with the most uninterested expression Theo had ever seen. He smirked at the scene and listened in.

"I know I may be a small guy but you know what isn't small?" He waggled his eyebrows at the girl.

She rolled her eyes, "Your dick?"

Glenn looked at her with shock, "God no! My dick is… it does the job okay! I was talking about my glorious house! Just got it last year," he bragged, "it came with a jacuzzi."

The woman stood up and ruffled Glenn's head as she walked past him. "Plenty of room for you and your little dick then, nice try Glenn," her voice trailed off as she passed by Theo.

Theo shook his head and sat down on the opposite side of Glenn, "How are you holding up there bud?"

Glenn glanced up at Theo and snickered. "You saw that didn't you?"

"Saw what? That fail of a hook-up? Nah. Don't worry about it."

"Damn it! You know Theo? I'm one hundred percent positive I'm gonna die alone. No one loves me! Do I– do I stink? It's the sunglasses isn't it? Makes me look like a bug!"

"I don't think it's any of those things. How much did you drink..? By the sounds of it, a lil too much."

"I drank enough."

"Alright… where's Sasha? I'd like to talk with someone of sound mind."

Glenn pointed over to the other side of the room at a booth. Sasha was speaking with a woman clad in a purple flowing dress. She was stunning. 

"Who's that she's talking to?"

"That's Yolanda, she sings here on the weekends. Sasha is absolutely smitten with her. Not to be an ass or anything but I think she's wasting her time. Don't think she likes the puss."

"God can you please stop saying that? I hate that word…"

"What? Puss?"

"Yes! Stop!"

Glenn shrugged, "What did you want to talk about? You look kinda wild."

Theo gathered his thoughts as he stared at the table. "Do you– I don't even know how to say this without sounding stupid– do you know anything about… glowing people…?"

"Glowing people?" Glenn repeated with an unamused face.

Theo scoffed, "I knew I shouldn't have said anything. I'll wait until Jarvis is done with whatever he's doing up there."

"He's still talking to them? Shit it's been almost an hour. Damn... how much have I been drinking?" He asked while peering into his glass.

Theo rolled his eyes and slapped a palm to his head. "Where's Rico? Maybe he won't look at me like an idiot."

"Rico?" Glenn pondered, "Rico… oh yeah! He saw me with that chick so he left. Guess he assumed I was busy or somethin'..."

"Right…"

Theo turned to look across the room for Sasha but instead he found Jarvis looking down at Glenn in disgust. Glenn still hadn't noticed him.

"Someone would like to see you Theo, bring the other two if you like but I don't recommend it. Especially this one."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean fancy pants?" Glenn jested.

Jarvis had little to no expression on his face when he grabbed the lapels of Glenn's suit jacket and lifted him off the ground. Glenn's eyes went wide as they met with Jarvis's calm ones.

"That means that if it weren't for Avery, you wouldn't even be here. I simply tolerate you for his sake. If it were up to me, you'd be in the streets where you belong."

A slow grin spread on Glenn's face, "Ooooh so you're a hypocrite eh? Bet you like sucking Avery's drug idled cock though, he was an even bigger loser than me by the sounds of it. Hahahah!"

Theo cringed as the words came out of Glenn's mouth. Jarvis retained his poker face and brought Glenn even closer to his face. 

"Whose cock has been in this mouth is none of your concern. I suggest you get that drinking problem of yours in check before I do Mr. Lang," he spat out the last syllable with vehemence then threw Glenn back onto the booth seat and glanced over at Theo, "I suggest you get a move on, it is rather important."

"Yes sir," Theo stuttered. Jarvis then strode across the dancefloor, carefully avoiding all of the drunken deviants. Theo peered over at Glenn's crumpled body. "Uh… are you okay?"

Glenn was chortling as he lifted himself back up into a sitting position, "Not gonna lie, that was kinda hot."

Theo sighed.

"If you haven't been able to tell, Jarvis ain't a big fan of me."

"Why?"

"I'm fucking annoying..? Thought that was obvious."

"Well yeah but I thought maybe there was a deeper reason."

"Nope. You see, it's kinda like a game. We all try to get Jarvis to lose his temper but he always keeps his composure. It's pretty funny."

"Is there a reason for it? Him keeping his composure I mean."

"Nah, he's just a pompous prick. We better get up there though before he comes back down here. Sasha seems preoccupied though. I'll just leave her be."

"Lead the way."

Glenn hobbled around the table to gain his footing and Theo shook his head. 

"On second thought, you follow me."

"I agree," Glenn slurred.

They both made their way up the stairs.

***

When Theo opened the door, he saw Jarvis sitting on one of the long couches that took up most of the room. He was blowing on a hot cup of tea. As soon as he saw Theo and Glenn walk in, he put the cup down and stood up. "Glad you could join us. Unfortunate that you brought that though I must say," he articulated while gesturing at Glenn, "nonetheless, I will show you to the boss."

Theo always wondered what the door at the end of the room was. Must be an office or something similar. They both followed Jarvis into the room and were instantly met with a man of enormous stature. All three of them looked up at the red-headed man.

"This is Brody," Jarvis announced.

Brody leant down to inspect Theo and never in all of his life had he ever felt more like a bug then now. He had to have been taller than 6'5. Not to mention his build was big in general; it made the man look like a Greek god.

"So you're the new guy eh? What brought you to this sorry ass place?" His voice was deep but smooth and clear unlike Avery's.

"Um honestly I just got bored and curious. Probably a weird looking decision to you which is understandable," Theo said. Glenn snickered behind him.

"Decision? I wish I had the decision of whether or not to be here," there was a voice from behind Brody. A woman's voice. So Brody stepped aside and there at a large desk was a petite woman gathering papers into stacks. "I imagine you're Theo right? Jarvis mentioned you. Welcome to the gang kid."

"Thanks…?"

"I wanted to talk to you about something but seeing as half of the members aren't even here tonight, I suppose I'll wait on it. Just know that I have a rather important mission that you will be doing."

"Okay. Uh, who are you again?"

"I'm your boss. The big boss. I run everything and everyone here. This here is my nephew, Brody, he's second in command. The name's Heather. Now if you would excuse us, I'd like to talk in private with Brody about something."

Jarvis guided them out of the office and shut the door. He then resumed his tea drinking on the couch along with a book in his hand. 

Theo and Glenn sat down at the other couch and stared at the wall.

Glenn broke the silence, "What do you think the mission is going to be?"

Theo shrugged, "I have no idea. If it's from the main boss though, it's probably pretty important. Right?"

"I guess. We haven't done a mission in a long ass time. We kinda gave up on that."

"Why?"

"Don't know really. Think it was just a never-ending battle ya know? Gets to be too much with nothing in return. No one cares about what we do."

"I get that. I'm kinda nervous though. I still suck with a gun."

"Nah don't worry about that. Jarvis will help you with that, right Jarvis?"

Jarvis didn't lift his head and just hummed in return.

"So what were you going on about with the glowing people? You kinda lost me on that one."

"I helped this guy off the street, I think he got drugged or something, so I took him back to my house to watch over him."

"Well that sounds like a stupid fucking idea," Glenn laughed.

"Okay okay I know, it was stupid. Anyways, he woke up in the middle of the night and in the pitch dark, he grabbed me with his hand. Like, choked me and almost lifted me off the ground! This guy was shorter than me, mind you! Honest to God, he started to glow. Like, his veins began to glow! It was the weirdest thing! I still don't understand what happened."

"Hmm maybe he–"

"Theo!" Jarvis suddenly interjected and walked over to him, "what did you just say?"

"What? The glowing guy?"

"Yes yes yes! Are you sure this is what you saw?"

"Yeah I'm pretty sure."

"What color were the veins?"

"Red."

Jarvis then paced around the room in thought. He turned back at Theo, "Promise me you won't speak to anyone about this. That goes for you as well Glenn."

"Why?"

"Just do as I say! Forget about the man and do not speak of it! That's an order!"

"Okay okay! I'll forget about it."

Jarvis ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, "Good. Now, you two are dismissed and I'd rather you converse elsewhere. Your blabbering is making it hard to read."

"Yes sir," they answered in unison. 

Right as Theo was about to follow Glenn out of the door Jarvis's hushed voice made him stop, "Theo I'm serious, please don't mention this to anyone. If you see anything else like that, you come to me or Heather okay?"

"Okay…"

"Thank you. Now go and enjoy your evening."

"I'll try," he sighed.

***

Theo slunk down the stairs in search of his friends. Glenn returned to his booth and was already nursing another drink. Sasha finally joined him and was sitting across from him giggling about something. Theo made his way over to them.

As he approached, Sasha's laughing stopped abruptly. "Theo! What's this I hear about glowing people?!"

"Ah! Not so loud!" Theo glared at Glenn and smacked the top of his head lightly, "so much for keeping it between us. Idiot…"

Glenn shrugged and chuckled.

Theo sat down next to Sasha and ordered a soda. Then he glanced over to her and sighed, "How much did he tell you?"

"Hmm not much, just that you picked up some random dude off the street and he tried to kill you and he glowed. That's it. Oh and that Heather is going to give us a mission."

"Okay. That's not too bad but please don't talk about it with anyone else. Jarvis told me not to and he kinda scares me to be honest," his voice trailed off.

"Fine fine… what about Rico? I think we should tell him too," Sasha stated.

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, don't you think it's weird how secretive Jarvis is being with this? Does that not intrigue you?"

"Of course it does! It's been bothering me since it happened but I won't go against his word."

"Brown-noser…" Glenn mumbled.

Theo's gaze snapped over to Glenn, "Maybe you like being thrown around like a ragdoll but I don't. You guys have already gotten me into some stupid shit, let's just follow orders. Please?"

"Well… that's no fun," Glenn slammed down the remaining liquid in his glass.

"Theo, where did you pick up this weird dude?" Sasha asked.

"I don't know exactly but it was near a parking garage. The only thing I can vaguely remember is a red building down the road."

Glenn and Sasha both looked at each other and in unison said, "The Rosebud."

"The Rosebud? What's that?"

"Strip club. We go there sometimes. Not too often though because that's where the Dead Eyes hang around," Glenn said.

"Who's Dead Eyes? A gang I'm guessing."

"Remember those guys that rocked your shit that one night? That's them. No one messes with those fuckers. They're the bodyguard type guys for the richest dude in the city, Salvatore," Sasha stated.

"Oh yeah you've mentioned him before. That Malachi guy works for him right?"

Glenn nodded, "Yep."

"We should go to the Rosebud though! We'll show you our favorite strippers! We might find something too, you never know!" Sasha blurted out.

"I agree I agree!" Glenn said excitedly.

Theo rolled his eyes, "Well this is all very fascinating but I'd rather just stay put and relax for tonight. There's no way I'm going to a strip club."

*** 

Theo sat in between Glenn and Sasha while watching a scantily clad woman twirl around on a pole. 

"I can't believe I'm in a fucking strip club…" Theo smacked a hand on his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, I live in Texas so it got kinda crazy here. Everything's back to normal though thank God. Hope you guys like the chapter! As always some of this stuff might change, it's just a way to keep my thoughts together. Til next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Tell me what you guys think and if I should continue or if I should just start working on the comic. 
> 
> It's kinda messy so sorry if there's any mistakes. My brain hasn't been the same after having covid-19 lol
> 
> If you want to see art of the characters, you can see them on my Instagram @dunwichbore
> 
> Thank you guys so much for reading! <3


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